Trump gets back at Ken Paxton after he criticized GOP convention calling struggling Senate hopeful a ‘pain in the a**’
Por Rachel Dobkin — – World RSS Feed
Trump gets back at Ken Paxton after he criticized GOP convention calling struggling Senate hopeful a ‘pain in the a**’
Trump has repeatedly insulted Paxton, spending both days of his GOP convention complaining about his fashion sense
Rachel Dobkin in New York Friday 02 October 2026 01:42 BST
- Bookmark
- Comments Go to comments
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks
Close popover
Become an Independent member to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Already a member?
Log in
Your support helps us to tell the story
Read more Support Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference. Read more
Donald Trump has thrown a jab at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after the struggling Senate hopeful criticized the Republican midterm convention that the president headlined last month.
Trump went to a truck factory in Denton, Texas, Thursday to tout the administration’s work on American manufacturing. But, like in previous speeches, he couldn’t help but insult Paxton in the process.
“He can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I’ll be honest,” the president said about the Republican nominee whom he endorsed.
Trump then looked to his left and asked: “Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. Good. I didn’t even know if he was here! I don’t care.”
open image in galleryTrump’s comments come a day after Paxton was reportedly caught slamming the Dallas convention that the president used to drum up support for Republican candidates in tight races.
“To be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good,” Paxton said during a private Washington fundraiser, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times.
Paxton and his Democratic opponent James Talarico are neck and neck in the polls.
Talarico was two percentage points ahead of Paxton in a Fox News poll released Thursday, with 51 percent of voter support compared to Paxton’s 49 percent.
The Democrat had an even larger lead over Paxton in a Marist University poll conducted from September 17 to 20. In that poll, 50 percent of Texas voters said they support Talarico and 44 percent said they back Paxton.
open image in galleryTalarico was leading Paxton by three percentage points before the convention.
A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll released on August 24 found Talarico with 42 percent of voter support compared to Paxton’s 39 percent.
Paxton’s senior adviser Nick Maddux disputed the reporting on Paxton’s private conversation with donors, telling the Times, “This is more manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist.”
“Our latest poll from the last week has Ken Paxton leading by three points, and every serious pollster will tell you that our numbers have improved since early September.”
open image in galleryDuring both nights of the GOP convention, Trump insulted Paxton over his fashion sense.
“And I said something yesterday, and I don’t know if he’ll ever talk to me again…My people said, ‘Please don’t say that.’ So I won’t say it, but I’ll tell you what I was thinking about saying,” Trump said during his closing address on September 10.
“I said, ‘I don’t like the way Ken dresses,” the president said. “Although I also said he looked really sharp in that suit yesterday. I thought it was spiffy.”
The night before, Trump told the crowd that Paxton “may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen, but you know what he is? He’s the greatest Attorney General in America, and he deserves to be your next senator.”
More about
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Most popular
Popular videos
Bulletin
Read next
Fonte: – World RSS Feed
